Written Answers Thursday 01 September 2005

Scottish Executive

Dairy Produce

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of milk sold in Scottish shops is of Scottish origin.

Ross Finnie: The Executive does not hold such information.

  Sourcing of milk is a commercial decision for individual retailers and not one in which the Executive has any locus to intervene. However, in my regular meetings with supermarkets and retail organisations I encourage them to source as much milk as possible from Scotland.

Energy

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what energy costs have been incurred by each (a) of its agencies, (b) police force, (c) fire authority and (d) local authority, broken down by fuel category, in (i) each of the last three years and (ii) the current year to date, showing also year-on-year percentage changes and what projections have been made in respect of each body’s energy costs for 2005-06.

Mr Tom McCabe: The information requested is not held centrally.

Environment

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how it gauges the success of schemes such as the "Dumb Dumpers" fly-tipping stop line.

Ross Finnie: The stop line is part of the "Dumb Dumpers" campaign which is co-ordinated by Keep Scotland Beautiful on behalf of the Scottish Fly-tipping Forum. The Scottish Executive looks to the Scottish Fly-tipping Forum to advise on the success and effectiveness of the scheme taking account of the number and nature of the calls received.

Environment

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether convictions for fly-tipping have increased following the establishment of the "Dumb Dumpers" stop line.

Ross Finnie: Statistics on the number of prosecutions for fly-tipping offences since the  "Dumb Dumpers" stop line commenced in March 2004 are not yet available.

First Minister

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the First Minister has written to the Prime Minister since November 2001 and what topics were raised.

Mr Tom McCabe: The First Minister and Prime Minister are in regular contact through a number of means. They write to each other where that is required. Information on the number of times the First Minister has written to the Prime Minister since November 2001, and on what subject, is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

First Minister

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the First Minister has had an official private meeting with the Prime Minister since November 2001.

Mr Tom McCabe: The First Minister and the Prime Minister have met 11 times on Government business since November 2001. They also meet regularly on political business.

Fisheries

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has received in respect of the condition of nephrops stocks in the west coast of Scotland; whether Fisheries Research Services has made any recommendation to the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas or the European Union that nephrops quotas should be increased this year and, if so, what that recommendation was; whether it will support such an increase, and whether it will place in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre all the background information and advice it (a) has received and (b) expects to receive on this matter in the run-up to the annual negotiations.

Ross Finnie: The most recent assessment of Nephrops stocks to the West of Scotland is presented in the October 2003 Advisory Committee on Fishery Management (ACFM) report from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), which is publicly available at www.ices.dk . The next assessment will not be completed until the meeting of ICES’ Advisory Committee on Fisheries Management, meeting in Copenhagen in October. The final stock assessment is normally made publicly available, with the corresponding management advice, within seven days.

  Fisheries Research Services has not recommended an increase in west of Scotland nephrops quotas to either ICES or to the European Union, and does not routinely recommend any quota level: quotas are normally set by managers on the basis of stock assessments and corresponding catch forecasts, in accordance with the fisheries management objectives for the stocks concerned.

  The Scottish Executive does not normally receive details of the technical and complex components of the preliminary stages of fish stock assessments; these are presented in the final stock assessments, in the relevant ICES working group reports and in the fisheries management advice received – all of which are made publicly available on www.ices.dk.

  The Scottish Executive does not expect to receive information on the condition of nephrops stocks to the west of Scotland in addition to that which will be made publicly available.

Fisheries

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the state of monkfish stocks and whether monkfish quotas can be further increased.

Ross Finnie: With the agreement of the EU Fisheries Council, monkfish quotas can be further increased on the basis of a proposal from the European Commission to do so.

  The most recent scientific assessment of monkfish stocks is presented in section 4.5.6 of the autumn 2004 Advisory Committee on Fishery Management (ACFM) report from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), which is publicly available at www.ices.dk. Neither the size of the spawning stock biomass nor the current level of fishing mortality is known.

  In response to a special request, ICES’ advice for long-term management of the monkfish stock is presented in Section 1.3.3.1 of the spring 2005 ACFM report, also publicly available at www.ices.dk. The long-term advice is to substantially improve the quality and quantity of data collected in the fishery, whilst maintaining exploitation of the stock at its current level, in so far as that can be determined.

  A further stock assessment with management advice is expected in October 2005.

G8 Summit

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its itemised budget was for the G8 summit and from which source each item will be funded.

Mr Tom McCabe: I refer to the answer to question S2W-17796 on 28 July 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

  Details of the expenditure on G8 related issues will be published later in the year along with information as to the sources from which that expenditure was met.

Meat Industry

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of beef sold in Scottish shops is of Scottish origin.

Ross Finnie: The Executive does not hold such information.

  Sourcing of beef is a commercial decision for individual retailers and not one in which the Executive has any locus to intervene. However, in my regular meetings with supermarkets and retail organisations I encourage them to source as much beef as possible from Scotland.

Meat Industry

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of sheep meat sold in Scottish shops is of Scottish origin.

Ross Finnie: The Executive does not hold such information.

  Sourcing of sheep meat is a commercial decision for individual retailers and not one in which the Executive has any locus to intervene. However, in my regular meetings with supermarkets and retail organisations I encourage them to source as much sheep meat as possible from Scotland.

Meat Industry

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of pig meat sold in Scottish shops is of Scottish origin.

Ross Finnie: The Executive does not hold such information.

  Sourcing of pig meat is a commercial decision for individual retailers and not one in which the Executive has any locus to intervene. However, in my regular meetings with supermarkets and retail organisations I encourage them to source as much pig meat as possible from Scotland.

Meat Industry

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to protect the interests of the Scottish beef industry, in light of a decision by major supermarket chains to import cheap beef from overseas.

Ross Finnie: Beef imports into the EU from third countries are subject to the arrangements of the EU’s beef regime. This includes a system of import tariffs and a number of concessionary import quotas. The UK plays an active part in the negotiations of these arrangements, for example in the case of EU/Mercosur (the South American trading group) and in the forthcoming WTO talks. I am well aware of industry concerns and these will be taken into account in framing the overall negotiating position.

Meat Industry

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive to what extent it considers that a decision by major supermarket chains to import cheap beef from overseas poses a threat to the Scottish beef industry.

Ross Finnie: Procurement decisions are commercial matters for individual supermarkets. In this case, the Scottish beef industry has a richly deserved reputation for quality and the Scottish Executive supports the work of Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) in seeking to ensure that consumers always have the choice of buying Scotch beef.

Ministerial Correspondence

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many letters addressed to ministers in the last year have not been seen by them.

Mr Tom McCabe: The specific information requested is not held centrally.

  Ministers receive letters from a wide range of correspondents; some are replied to personally and others are forwarded to the Ministerial Correspondence Unit for recording and processing. There are two categories of response; the first is ministerial correspondence where a response is signed by the minister and the second is an official reply which is prepared and signed by an official on behalf of a minister.

  The amount of correspondence handled through the Ministerial Correspondence Unit for the period 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005 is set out below:

  
Ministerial correspondence 14,677
  Official correspondence 21,224.

Planning

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what mechanisms and forums will be used to consult the public about the content of the second National Planning Framework in advance of its publication.

Malcolm Chisholm: Scottish ministers are committed to extensive engagement with stakeholders during the preparation of the second National Planning Framework. The Executive will ensure that all those with an interest are given opportunities to express their views on its scope and content. Consultative mechanisms will include regional and thematic seminars, meetings with representative organisations and the issue of a consultative draft. We will bring forward our proposals for stakeholder engagement on the second National Planning Framework before the introduction of the Planning Bill.

Planning

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how the second National Planning Framework will be subject to parliamentary scrutiny before it is published and what opportunity there will be for the Parliament to amend it.

Malcolm Chisholm: Scottish ministers are committed to ensuring that Parliament has the opportunity to contribute to the development of the second National Planning Framework. We will bring forward proposals for parliamentary involvement in the process before the introduction of the Planning Bill.

Planning

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what mechanisms it will put in place to allow opportunities for the public to formally object to or challenge the content of the second National Planning Framework.

Malcolm Chisholm: Scottish ministers are keen to encourage people to engage positively with the National Planning Framework. The public will have the opportunity to make representations on a consultative draft of the second National Planning Framework.

School Curriculum

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive in which parts of the school curriculum children can learn about the Scottish Wars of Independence in the 13th and 14th centuries.

Peter Peacock: The teaching of history falls within the environmental studies area of the curriculum. The National Guidelines on Environmental Studies 5-14 advise that an understanding of the past should be developed through studies that include attention to Scottish, British, European and global contexts but they are not specific about the precise aspects of Scottish history to be studied.

  There are potential opportunities for young people to learn about the Scottish Wars of Independence within national qualifications at intermediate 1, intermediate 2, higher and advanced higher levels.

School Curriculum

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive in which parts of the school curriculum children can learn about the Treaty of Union in 1707.

Peter Peacock: The teaching of history falls within the environmental studies area of the curriculum. The National Guidelines on Environmental Studies 5-14 advise that an understanding of the past should be developed through studies that include attention to Scottish, British, European and global contexts but they are not specific about the precise aspects of Scottish history to be studied.

  There are potential opportunities for young people to learn about the Treaty of Union within national qualifications at intermediate 1, intermediate 2 and the early modern option of higher.

School Curriculum

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive in which parts of the school curriculum children can learn about the Highland clearances.

Peter Peacock: The teaching of history falls within the environmental studies area of the curriculum. The National Guidelines on Environmental Studies 5-14 advise that an understanding of the past should be developed through studies that include attention to Scottish, British, European and global contexts but they are not specific about the precise aspects of Scottish history to be studied.

  There are opportunities for young people to learn about the Highland clearances within the 1830s to 1930s option at standard grade and most schools offer this option. There are also potential opportunities in the immigrants and exiles option of national qualifications at intermediate 1 and intermediate 2 and the patterns of migration option of higher.

School Curriculum

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive in which parts of the school curriculum children can learn about the 1820 rising.

Peter Peacock: The teaching of history falls within the environmental studies area of the curriculum. The National Guidelines on Environmental Studies 5-14 advise that an understanding of the past should be developed through studies that include attention to Scottish, British, European and global contexts but they are not specific about the precise aspects of Scottish history to be studied.

  There are potential opportunities for young people to learn about the 1820 rising as part of the 1750s to 1850s option of standard grade.

Scottish Executive Expenditure

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total travel costs were for (a) ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in each of its departments in 2004-05.

Mr Tom McCabe: The information required is currently being validated. I will write to the member as soon as the information is available and I will arrange for a copy of my reply to be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 37346).

Scottish Executive Expenditure

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff were employed by it, and what the total expenditure was, on communications in 2004-05, broken down into (a) information and communications technology staff, (b) press officers, (c) special advisers and (d) others and what the estimated equivalent figures are for 2005-06.

Mr Tom McCabe: The information requested is currently being validated. I will write to the member as soon as the information is available and will arrange for a copy of my reply to be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 37347).

Scottish Executive Statistics

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many external consultants it has used to validate data and statistics produced by non-departmental public bodies (NDPB) in (a) 2002-03, (b) 2003-04 and (c) 2004 to date, broken down by NDPB, and what the cost was to (i) it and (ii) each NDPB in terms of fees paid in each period.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive has not used external consultants to validate data and statistics produced by NDPBs in the time period asked. Information is not held centrally on the use of external consultants by the NDPBs themselves. Where the NDPB publishes data as National Statistics there is a professional obligation on them to carry out suitable quality assurance.

Scottish Executive Statistics

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has responded to the Statistics Commission report, Legislation to Build Trust in Statistics , published in May 2004; whether it will make any such response publicly available, and whether it supports the introduction of an overall legislative framework, as suggested by the report.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Executive has not responded to the Statistics Commission report. Any response will be made publicly available.

  The Executive has not made a decision on whether it supports the need for legislation in Scotland.

Scottish Executive Statistics

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the review of the Framework for National Statistics.

Mr Tom McCabe: Preliminary discussions on the review of the framework for National Statistics have been held at official level at the Government Statistical Heads of Profession meetings.

Scottish Executive Statistics

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, regarding the Scottish Executive Statistics Plan Overview and Annual Report 2004-05 , what it considers to be the "key statistics relevant to measuring the impact of government programmes", as referred to by the Office of the Chief Statistician in paragraph 10.

Mr Tom McCabe: The term key statistics in paragraph 10 of the Scottish Executive Statistics Plan Overview and Annual Report 2004-05 does not relate to a definitive set of statistics but refers to National Statistics which show outcome trends in the areas of government programmes. High level summary trend statistics on outcomes across the range of government activity will be incorporated into the Scottish Executive Statistics internet site as part of a redesign of the site.

Task Forces

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a list of task forces created since 1999, showing the (a) cost of each since its inception and (b) membership broken down by (i) profession, (ii) political affiliation and (iii) area of expertise.

Mr Tom McCabe: The information requested is not held centrally.